The Scandalous Office Love Affair That Brought Jeff Bezos and His Wife Together

Jeff Bezos has enjoyed amazing success with Amazon. Some have speculated the online retailer is even poised to become the first trillion-dollar company. The CEO has been enjoying the fruits of his labor by treating himself to several lavish properties. Life has been good. There’s little doubt he’s basking in the glow of being one of the richest and most successful men in the world.

Jeff has been successful not only in business but also in love. He and his wife, MacKenzie, have been married since 1993. So, how did they meet? We’ll share all the juicy details with you.

Here’s what we know about the scandalous office love affair that brought Jeff Bezos and his wife together.

Jeff Bezos asked friends to help him meet women

He was really into the dating scene. | David Ryder/Getty Images

Before Jeff met his wife, he seemed to have a tough time meeting the right woman, according to Wired magazine. Consequently, he reached out to his friends for help. Jeff said he decided to ask his friends if they could set him up on blind dates. He told the magazine that women just weren’t that into him. “I’m not the kind of person where women say, ‘Oh, look how great he is,’ a half hour after meeting me. I’m kind of goofy, and I’m not … it’s not the kind of thing where people are going to say about me, ‘Oh my God, this is what I’ve been looking for!’”

Next: He became really good at this.

He said he became a ‘professional’ dater

He was a man on a mission … to find the perfect wife. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The hunt for a wife turned Jeff into a dating machine. He was serious about settling down and starting the next chapter in his life. Eventually, dating became like second nature to him. He told Wired that he spent much of his time in New York looking for the one. “At a certain point I was sort of a professional dater,” said Bezos.

Next: Finding love at the office.

Office romance

They mixed business with pleasure. | Jerod Harris/Getty Images

MacKenzie told Vogue Jeff interviewed her for her position at hedge fund D.E. Shaw. Sparks must have been flying during the interview because the two became an item soon after they met. MacKenzie was a research associate and Jeff was a senior vice president. Some employees might have been hesitant to make a move because of the power imbalance, but that didn’t seem to faze MacKenzie. She knew what she wanted and decided to ask Jeff out on a date.

Next: MacKenzie got more than she expected.

They raced to the altar

Dating your boss is never easy. But it worked out for her! | Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

MacKenzie took a risk and it paid off. Their office romance blossomed, and they dived right into an exclusive relationship. Although MacKenzie originally took the job at D.E. Shaw so she could pay the bills, she ended up getting a lot more than she expected. Jeff and MacKenzie fell in love. They were engaged in three months and got married in 1993, just six months after their first date.

Next: An undeniable attraction.

This is what attracted MacKenzie to Jeff

They are meant for each other. | Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

One thing that made it easier for their attraction to grow was the fact that their offices were adjacent. This gave them plenty of time to get to know each other. MacKenzie said working next door fueled her interest in her future husband. She told Vogue this one thing about Jeff made him more attractive to her: “My office was next door to his, and all day long I listened to that fabulous laugh. How could you not fall in love with that laugh?” she said.

Next: The perfect wife.

Jeff’s idea of the perfect wife

Jeff knows what he wants in a wife. This might be why it was easy for him to get married so quickly. During his 1999 interview with Wired magazine, he said this one thing is very important to have: “What I really wanted was someone resourceful … Life’s too short to hang out with people who aren’t resourceful.” It seems like he got what he wanted, because he said his wife is everything he was looking for. “I think my wife is resourceful, smart, brainy, and hot,” he told Vogue.

Next: Focusing on family life.

The Bezos family

This busy CEO has a loving family. | David McNew/Getty Images

Jeff and MacKenzie have four children. Despite their wealth, they have managed to remain down-to-earth. Vogue noted in the 2013 interview that MacKenzie chose to drive a Honda minivan to shuttle the kids to school. And instead of relying on a team of nannnies, MacKenzie told Vogue that she and Jeff decided to take care of the children themselves. At times, they even opted to homeschool their kids. “We tried all sorts of things, including off-season travel, kitchen-science experiments, chicken incubation, Mandarin lessons, the Singapore math program, and lots of clubs and sports with other neighborhood kids,” said MacKenzie.

Next: A new career.

What’s MacKenzie up to now?

She now focuses on being a writer. | Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Things have drastically changed for the couple since their time at D.E. Shaw. MacKenzie eventually left corporate life to focus on her career as a novelist. Her first book, The Testing of Luther Albright, earned her an American Book Award. Her book was also a Los Angeles Times book of the year. MacKenzie’s most recent book, Traps, was published in 2013.